Mobile SEO can make or break your business. Did you know that almost 50% of people search only from smartphones? Ever since their emergence, mobile phones have been trending in virtually any field. Probably 8 out of 10 people that went online in 2018 did so from a smartphone rather than a desktop or tablet.
If you expect to be found online, you have to optimize your site for mobile phones. Not doing so – will decrease your overall ranking. This blog will talk about the basics of mobile SEO so that you can start optimizing today already and start growing your mobile traffic.
- Want to read more about SEO and why it matters, click here.
Responsive Design
One of the most frustrating experiences is trying to view a desktop-only website on your mobile. You have to zoom in to see text, while your scrolling back and forth to find buttons and read on, etc.
A responsive web design responds to the user’s environment; for example, the screen size, platform, and orientation. A responsive design would also save you the trouble of having to deal with multiple configurations for each device.
Creating a responsive design will keep things simple. As the screen size varies, so will your page to fit perfectly.
Speed
Now that you’ve configured your site to respond to any screen size. All users can view the entire content clearly, and it is time to focus on speed.
It doesn’t matter if your website is mobile-friendly if it takes too long to load it. Escpaiallcy when it comes to smartphones, nobody has the time to wait. As soon as your website is not loading, users will start clicking back. Hence, increasing your bounce rate and signalling Google.
To avoid this ensure that your website can load quickly on most devices regardless of their connection weather its Wifi, 5G, 4G or even 3G. Having a super-fast site will boost your traffic volume and rank.
- Read more about the Mobile Speed Update and how its effecting mobile websites.
Google AMP Framework
Google has developed, AMP, or Accelerated Mobile Pages Framework. The opensource framework is aimed to create better, enhanced, and faster user experiences on mobile devices. AMP allows you to build lightweight sites with simplified HTML and CSS rules.
Many websites that leveraged AMP framework agree that it enhanced their websites speed, and even drove critical KPIs up. Like, organic search traffic volume and a reduced load on their servers. It also provides the opportunity to be featured in the AMP carousel for mobile searches.
However, this is a well-implemented AMP case. The reason that some sites refrain from leveraging the AMP framework is that its not an easy task. It takes effort and time to implement, and you might run into some critical problems. If you’re trying to deliver rich user experiences such as interactive maps, you may want to reconsider.
Header Images and Content
Having a large header image will force users to scroll longer before reaching the content. Mobile screens are relatively small compared to desktops. Select a smaller image that displays correctly on mobile.
The same when it comes to text content; ensure that it is easily readable. Make use of headings and subheadings, with clear font. A well-structured site with sections and headings is more comfortable to scan through and more likely to be read.
Too Many Pop-ups
What’s more frustrating than a slow loading site, is probably one that is covered with pop-ups. It is even worse on a mobile screen that hasn’t got the same space as a desktop.
On a desktop page its easier to close and click away on the pop-ups that appear. But this isn’t the case during a mobile experience.
Having too many pop-ups on mobile sites will eventually decrease your overall rank. Users tend to click back and away from the site if they get too frustrated with having to close multiple boxes on a small screen. Inevitably increasing the bounce rate and signalling search engines that this isn’t a user-friendly experience.
Allow Google to Crawl Entire Site
Finally, now your site should be optimized for mobile phones, with responsive content and super fast speed. The final step is allowing Google to view your entire content since they have their Mobile-First Index.
Some sites prefer to show some of the content and then wait for users to click on the load more to keep revealing more content. Such practises aimed towards increasing load time by showing less content, hurt your overall rank.
Allowing Google to crawl your entire content, including your HTML and CSS, will help increase your overall rank. Crawlers will determine that your site is structured for a friendly mobile experience and will rank it accordingly.
Wrap-Up
Remember that most searches today are being done on a mobile phone. If you want to be found online, you need to appear in mobile searches. You can begin by applying these basics steps:
- Responsive Design
- Speed
- Google AMP Framework
- Header Images and Content
- Too Many Pop-ups
- Google Crawling and Indexing
If you want to learn more about Mobile SEO or need help optimizing your site click here, alternatively you can leave a comment below.
